Mama Babs
by Scotty1609
Summary: Everyone knew Dick and Barbara would get married eventually, including Dick's five-year-old daughter Mar'i. But, if she already has a Mommy, what should she call Barbara?


**Soooo I saw this headcanon on the AMAZING tumblr blog:: ::: and I was all "OMG THAT IS SO CUTE" but then I realized that I was the one who submitted the headcanon like a year ago...**

 **HEADCANON:** After Dick and Barbara get married, Mar'i called Barbara 'Mother'. Barbara's initial reaction was shock, which Mar'i mistook for anger. **(from here on be fic spoilers!)** After an extensive game of hide-and-seek with the distraught little girl, Barbara tells Mar'i she can call her whatever she wants. Mar'i started to call her 'Mama Babs' after that.

 **Here's the link! post/103591557145/after-dick-and-barbara-get-married-mari-called**

 **And here's the fic! :D**

(I don't own Batman)

 **WARNINGS: There be some** ** _major fluff_** **ahead!**

...

Everyone was tossing rice and rose petals in the air, cheering as it rained down on the happy couple; sans Jason and Roy, who were try to peg Dick in the eye with individual pieces of rice. But Dick could care less as he lifted his newly-wedded wife from her wheelchair, spinning her around and practically prancing down the aisle to their car. Barbara was blushing and rolled her eyes at her husband's antics but ultimately failed at hiding her smile.

Alfred smiled and opened the backseat door of a white limo for the couple, allowing Dick space to set Barbara down, her legs outside the car. Dick turned to wave to everyone when a tiny ball of black and purple rammed into his legs. "Ooph!"

"Daddy!" Mar'i cried happily, hugging her father tightly and lifting him into the air. "Have fun on your vay-cay-shun! Uncle Roy and Uncle Jason said to _be safe_ , but I dunno why cuz you guys are gonna be fine, right? No bad-guys are gonna follow you?"

"M-Mari, baby, can you please put Daddy down?"

Mar'i gently placed her father back on the ground, and Dick crouched to see eye-to-eye with the child. He was still surprised how much the five-year-old looked like him, what with her black locks and beauty moles, her pert nose and pink lips. Her skin and eyes were Kori's, but the rest of her was all him, which made the man happy to no end. He tried not to hold a grudge against the woman, knowing that she had sent Mar'i to earth for the child's own safety, but... couldn't she have at least called? It had been almost four _years_ , and all Mar'i knew of her mother was pictures.

"We're gonna be fine, Starshine," Dick smiled and kissed her forehead. "And remember what Daddy told you about Uncle Jason and Uncle Roy?"

"Don't listen to 'em unless there are bad-guys around, and don't repeat anythin' they say."

"Good girl."

Tim stepped forward and pried Mar'i off her father, shooting Dick a grin and saying "Congrats, dude," once more before the older man hopped into the limo with his wife and rode off for their honeymoon.

…

Mar'i stayed with Alfred and Bruce for the long five days that Dick and Barbara were gone. Damian was there to help, but the teenager could only stand the child's energy for so long until he burned out. So, Collin and Nell came over to assist their friend, and when even they got tired, Alfred took the child into the kitchen to bake. The Manor was filled to the roof with cookies and cupcakes by the time the newly weds returned to the Manor to pick up Mar'i.

"DADDY!" the little girl shrieked as she barreled towards her father. Dick stole the girl from the air, swinging her around before hugging her close, pecking kisses all over her face. "DADDY! Stoppit, your whiskers tickle!"

Bruce came down the hallway next, followed shortly by Alfred and Damian. The millionaire cocked an eyebrow at his eldest son. "Haven't shaved in a while."

Dick shrugged and rubbed his chin. "Thinking of keeping the rugged, stubbly look."

"He's shaving when we get home."

" _Baaaabs_."

"Daddy, Daddy, _Daddy_! Me an' Grandpa Alfred made _peanut butter_ cookies!"

Dick exaggerated a gasp. "Those are my _favorite_!"

The child giggled wildly as she said, "I _know_ , Daddy! That's why we made them! And we made Mommy some white choc'late mac-dami-aah nut cookies, too!"

The group froze upon Mar'i's words, and three nervous pairs of eyes looked to Barbara to gauge her reaction. The woman had a firm grip on either arm of her wheelchair, her face red as she pressed her lips into a thin line.

Mar'i was a smart child, so she gathered the change in atmosphere and Barbara's reddened face almost as quickly as everyone else did. The child went pale and covered her mouth with her hands, stammering, "I- I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean t-to-" Massive tears appeared in the girl's eyes and she let out a loose sob, shaking her head as she kicked her way out of her father's arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'msorrysorrysososorry-" she was whimpering as she backed away slowly, the mere fact that she was walking instead of flying setting off alarms in itself.

"Miss Mar'i," Alfred spoke, always the first to recover, "I am sure that Miss Barbara-"

But Mar'i had already taken off, flying away into the Manor and leaving the adults to stand in the foyer. Dick looked down to his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Barbara, I-"

"I need to talk to her."

"Maybe we should give her a few minutes to calm down..." Damian offered, only for Dick to deny.

"She's five, not fifteen, Little D. We need to fix this before it gets out of hand."

The teenager huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well good luck finding her. She's better at hiding than _you_ , Grayson."

"Shit."

" _Master Dick_."

Bruce intervened before the epic smack-down could begin. "Let's split up and look for her. Damian, look in the Cave- there's a lot of small spots she likes to explore. Alfred, get the garden. Dick, the third floor; I'll get the second. Barbara, first floor."

The family split up without further orders, each going to their designated spots to search. Damian, despite being sixteen, was still small enough to fit into the nooks and crannies in the Cave that Mar'i liked to nestle in for naps. He found multiple loose buttons and dolls, a few half-eaten cookies and crayons, but no little alien princess. Bruce had about the same luck. He searched each of the rooms: the library, the tea room, the entertainment room, the gym, and even the panic room. Each one served only to mock the child's disappearance. Alfred had a more difficult time searching, not being able to look too high or low because of his aging spine; Damian quickly joined him in his search. The two left no stone unturned, but there was still no Mar'i. Dick was panicking by now, having not found anything on his floor, either. He was tearing his hair out as he met in the foyer with the other men, his eyes frantic.

"Where could she have gone?! She's _five_ for God's sake, how far could she have gotten off to?!"

"She's a five-year-old with super-strength and flight," Bruce interrupted, making Dick panic even worse. As Alfred admonished the other man, Damian elbowed Dick's arm.

"We'll find her, Grayson. The child couldn't have gotten far. And if she has, I'm sure Father has a way of tracking her."

"No need, Damian," came Barbara's voice from the other end of the hallway. The men all whirled around to see the red-head wheeling up to them with the found child in her lap. Mar'i was curled up in a ball, one hand tangled in her long hair and the other clutching Barbara's skirt. Even asleep, she looked sad and scared, tear-tracks staining her cheeks.

Dick slumped in relief, taking his daughter from Barbara's arms and cradling her to his chest. "Oh, Starshine," he whispered, kissing her temple.

"I dare say we set her down for a nap. Perhaps with a warm water bottle, as well," Alfred spoke quietly, resting a hand on Mar'i's head. The girl shifted, but didn't wake.

As Dick and Alfred took Mar'i upstairs, Damian and Bruce excused themselves to the Cave. Barbara sighed, alone with her thoughts, and took to the kitchen in search of those macadamia nut cookies.

…

"Mmgn..."

Mar'i groaned and rubbed at her eyes as she sat up slowly, Peanut the elephant (passed down by her father and looking rather ragged) held in the crook of her elbow. Someone had put her in her bed and covered her with her favorite quilt- a hand-sewn gift from Stephanie and Cassandra. The squares were patchy and lopsided, but it was pink and purple and from her aunts, so it was Mar'i's most treasured possession second only to her elephant.

"Good afternoon, sleepy head."

Mar'i jumped at the voice and looked to Barbara with a horrified expression. The woman made no angry gesture, though, and her face wore a calm smile. Nevertheless, Mar'i was still nervous. "I'm sorry," she whimpered, sniffling as tears came to her eyes. "I- I didn't mean to call you Mommy... I mean- I did, but- I didn't mean to make you angry..." Her sentence finished in a whisper.

Barbara's face fell. "Oh, sweetheart," she crooned, heaving herself out of her chair to sit on the side of the bed. "You didn't make me angry. I was... surprised, but not angry."

Mar'i nodded, but didn't seem convinced.

"Really, Mar'i. I was surprised. I know you haven't met... Koriand'r," the woman wondered if she was using the name Mar'i knew, but the child's face remained the same, so she took that as an affirmative answer, "but she was- is- still your birth mother..." Slowly, as not to startle the child any more, Barbara took her hand. "I don't mind if you call me 'Mommy' or 'Mother', Mar'i... I actually- I actually would _like_ that..."

Mar'i's head snapped up as she looked to Barbara with teary eyes, face hopeful.

"R-Really?"

Barbara and Dick had been on-again off-again for years, and Mar'i had _happened_ during one of their off-again periods. They had been dating for nearly a year when Starfire sent the little princess to earth in an escape pod with a letter saying that the Gordanians had attacked Tamaran and made an attempt on the child's life. A small scar on Mar'i's shoulder attested to it. Mar'i'ander Grayson-Wayne was her name, and she was the tiniest two-year-old Dick had ever seen. He loved her instantly. Barbara was upset at first before she realized her anger stemmed from a petty jealousy. She began to get to know Mar'i, and the child started calling her 'Auntie Babs'. Barbara didn't think much of it though considering Mar'i called nearly everyone 'Aunt' and 'Uncle'- Uncle Roy and Uncle Wally, Uncle Vic and Uncle Saladhead (something Lian taught her), Auntie Dinah and Auntie Kate, Auntie Selina and Auntie Diana- it just didn't seem quite _special_.

And then Dick and Barbara had gotten married, and then Mar'i had called her 'Mommy'.

It was funny how fast things could change.

"You... You want me to call you 'Mommy'?"

Barbara was drawn from her thoughts, looking down at the child who was sniffling and using her sleeve as a tissue. "Oh, honeybee," Barbara stroked her hair and smiled, "I don't care what you call me. The sentiment is all the same."

"Sin-tah-meent?"

Barbara giggled. " _Sentiment_. It means... how you feel about something." Mar'i chewed over the word and played with Peanut's ears as she waited for Barbara to speak again. "Mar'i... Could I ask you a question?"

Slowly, the child conceded.

"Why do you want to call me 'Mommy'?"

Chewing her lip, the five-year-old began, "You- you married Daddy, which makes you Mommy, right? And- and it would be mean if I didn't call you Mommy..."

Barbara's heart sank a bit, but she ignored it in favor of Mar'i's own feelings. "Mar'i, just because I married your father doesn't mean you have to... to see me as a mother." The woman shrugged, trying to rid herself of her... was that _disappointment_? "Only do it if you want to."

Several more moments of awkward silence passed, in which Mar'i had Peanut march across her bed and sit on Barbara's lap. Barbara took up the stuffed animal and had Peanut 'kiss' Mar'i's nose. The child erupted into giggles, and Barbara felt her mood lighten a tad.

"I... I dunno if I wanna call you Mommy," Mar'i spoke, breaking the ice. "I mean, I don't know her, but I've got a Mommy, right? And... And Daddy says she loves me, so I don't want her to be sad that I'm calling you Mommy... But- But I _wanna_ call you somethin' that isn't _Auntie_ , because you're _not_ Auntie anymore, right?"

Mar'i crawled across the bed and leaned up against Barbara's lap, her cheek pressed in to the woman's chest as little hands played with her elephant. "Can... Can I call you Mama? Mama Babs?"

The grin on Barbara's face was blinding. "I like that. _Mama Babs_. It's very nice, Mar'i..." Barbara swallowed the knot in her throat, trying to keep her cheerful tears at bay as to not cause more confusion. "Would you mind if... I called you daughter?"

"...Can you call me 'dah-terr' if Mommy calls me that, too?"

"I... don't have to, if you don't _want_ me to."

The woman waited for an answer with bated breath. And then Mar'i nodded firmly. "If I can call you Mama Babs, you can call me 'dah-terr' Mar."

Barbara giggled. "Daughter Mar. Alright, I think I can deal with that... Or I could just call you _honeybee_!" the woman exclaimed, making a 'bzzz' sound as she ticked the girl madly. Mar'i squealed and rolled around on the bed.

" _Nooooooo,_ Mama Babs! Bees are bad! EEEK!"

A knock came at the door and Dick's face popped inside. He grinned when he saw his wife and daughter playing. "Everything going good, girls?"

"Daddy!" Mar'i flew out of Barbara's grasp to link her arms around her father's neck. "Mama Babs and I decided that I can call her Mama Babs and she can call me Daughter Mar!"

"Or honeybee."

"Or honeybee."

Dick gave his daughter an eskimo kiss. "That sounds great, Starshine." He sat down next to Barbara, and the red-head leaned up against his shoulder, one of her hands going to cup Mar'i's cheek.

"Not great," Barbara corrected, " _perfect_."

 **...**

 **Sooooo... yeah.**

 **I'll try to update REVERSE asap, but life is really** ** _blech_** **right now. I'm going into college and working a crap ton, not to mention fighting writer's block and trying to get ready for A-Kon D*: Anywhoo, if you have prompts, PLEASE SEND THEM. That'll help A LOT.**

 **I love ya'll so much! Thank you for every review; I** ** _do_** **read all of them, even if I can't** ** _answer_** **all of them. If you really need or want to chat, them PM me and I should answer in about a week's time.**

 **Thanks again!**

 **God Bless,**

 **~Scotty**


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